The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Service pushed to the brink – BMA
The NHS in Scotland is being “stretched to the very edge” doctors leaders will warn as a new survey revealed just 3% of them believe the service is adequately resourced.
Just 6% of doctors questioned believe there are enough staff working in the NHS to provide quality patient care, with 89% disagreeing with this.
Meanwhile two thirds of doctors (66%) said “inadequate” resources were now “significantly” impacting on the quality and safety of patient care.
A further three out of 10 (31%) felt the lack of resources was “slightly” affecting the service, while only 3% described resources as being “adequate”.
Dr Peter Bennie, chairman of the British Medical Association (BMA) in Scotland will use a speech to warn that the survey shows the “stark reality of a profession pushed to the brink”.
He will add: “While doctors are delivering high quality care wherever and however they possibly can, we are stretched to the limit of what we are capable of.
“Perhaps we have not quite reached the dire working conditions and morale seen in England, but we are clinging by our fingertips from sliding down a similar path.”
His speech comes as the NHS across the UK prepares to celebrate the 70th anniversary of its formation – with Mr Bennie to insist ministers at Holyrood must act to “ensure we have an NHS in Scotland that we can celebrate for many birthdays to come”.
Almost 1,000 doctors in Scotland took part in the research, with seven out of 10 (71%) saying the service in Scotland had become worse over the last year.
Meanwhile 88% of doctors believe that without a “significant” increase in funding, the NHS will no longer be able to provide comprehensive care within a decade.
Mr Bennie, delivering his final speech to the BMA annual representative meeting in Brighton before stepping down in the autumn, will stress the NHS in Scotland must aim higher than the “very low bar” of providing a better service than in England.